I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 895 

To combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition of retail goods 

for the purpose of selling those illegally obtained goods through physical 

and online retail marketplaces. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. BUCK (for himself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, and Ms. 

TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To combat organized crime involving the illegal acquisition 

of retail goods for the purpose of selling those illegally 

obtained goods through physical and online retail marketplaces. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Organized 

5 Retail Crime Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) organized retail crime, a crime involving 

2 groups of individuals specifically targeting retail 

3 stores, often by using violence or threats of violence 

4 to subdue employees and shoppers while robbing 

5 stores of their most valuable and easily diverted 

6 merchandise, has been a growing concern to retail7 ers, industry, and law enforcement; 

8 (2) retailers have seen a dramatic increase in 

9 occurrences of organized retail crime, costing retail10 ers approximately $720,000 per every 

11 $1,000,000,000 in sales in 2019, representing more 

12 than a 50-percent increase in such losses since 2015. 

13 Further, according to the National Retail Federa14 tion, the use of violence or aggression is increasing 

in the commission of these crimes, with 2 15 ⁄3 of retail16 ers reporting an increase of violence during the com17 mission of retail theft; 

18 (3) organized retail crime— 

19 (A) threatens the safety and liberty of in20 dividuals in the United States when those indi21 viduals engage in commerce; 

22 (B) erodes the retail economy for cus23 tomers and businesses alike; and 

24 (C) finances transnational criminal organi25 zations that use the proceeds of those thefts to 


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1 support the criminal goals of the criminal orga2 nizations; and 

3 (4) it has become necessary for Congress— 

4 (A) to amend title 18, United States Code, 

5 to ensure that law enforcement has the legal 

6 tools necessary to combat organized retail crime 

7 in the same capacity as law enforcement is able 

8 to combat theft and diversion from other por9 tions of the supply chain; and 

10 (B) to direct the executive branch to create 

11 a central coordination center to align Federal, 

12 State, local, territorial, and Tribal efforts to 

13 combat organized retail crime. 

14 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE. 

15 Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in section 982(a)(5)— 

17 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C), 

18 (D), and (E) as subparagraphs (D), (E), and 

19 (F), respectively; 

20 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) section 659 (interstate or foreign ship23 ments by carrier; State prosecutions);’’; 


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1 (C) in subparagraph (E), as so redesig2 nated, by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a semi3 colon; 

4 (D) in subparagraph (F), as so redesig5 nated, by striking the period at the end and in6 serting a semicolon; and 

7 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (F), 

8 as so redesignated, the following: 

9 ‘‘(G) section 2314 (transportation of stolen 

10 goods, securities, moneys, fraudulent State tax 

11 stamps, or articles used in counterfeiting); or 

12 ‘‘(H) section 2315 (sale or receipt of stolen 

13 goods, securities, moneys, or fraudulent State tax 

14 stamps).’’; 

15 (2) in section 1956(c)(7)(D)— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘section 659 (interstate or 

17 foreign shipments by carrier; State prosecu18 tions),’’ after ‘‘section 658 (relating to property 

19 mortgaged or pledged to farm credit agen20 cies),’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘section 2314 (transpor22 tation of stolen goods, securities, moneys, 

23 fraudulent State tax stamps, or articles used in 

24 counterfeiting), section 2315 (sale or receipt of 

25 stolen goods, securities, moneys, or fraudulent 


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1 State tax stamps),’’ after ‘‘section 2281 (relat2 ing to violence against maritime fixed plat3 forms),’’; 

4 (3) in section 2314, in the first paragraph— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘or by using any facility 

6 of interstate or foreign commerce,’’ after ‘‘com7 merce’’; 

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘or of an aggregate value 

9 of $5,000 or more during any 12-month pe10 riod,’’ after ‘‘more,’’; 

11 (C) by inserting ‘‘, embezzled,’’ after ‘‘sto12 len’’; and 

13 (D) by inserting ‘‘, false pretense, or other 

14 illegal means’’ after ‘‘fraud’’; and 

15 (4) in section 2315, in the first paragraph— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘or of an aggregate value 

17 of $5,000 or more during any 12-month pe18 riod,’’ after ‘‘$5,000 or more,’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting ‘‘, or 

20 have been stolen, unlawfully converted, or taken 

21 by the use of any facility of interstate or foreign 

22 commerce in the commission of said act; or’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTER TO COMBAT ORGA2 NIZED RETAIL CRIME. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Trade Facilitation 

4 and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4341 et 

5 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 305 the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 305A. ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME COORDINATION 

8 CENTER. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) CENTER.—The term ‘Center’ means the 

11 Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center estab12 lished pursuant to subsection (b)(1). 

13 ‘‘(2) ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME.—The term 

14 ‘organized retail crime’ includes— 

15 ‘‘(A) any crime described in section 2314 

16 or 2315 of title 18, United States Code; and 

17 ‘‘(B) aiding or abetting the commission of, 

18 or conspiring to commit, any act that is in fur19 therance of a violation of a crime referred to in 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(b) ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME COORDINATION

22 CENTER.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of the Combating 

25 Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023, the Secretary 

26 of Homeland Security shall direct the Executive AsVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:26 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H895.IH H895

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1 sociate Director of Homeland Security Investigations 

2 to establish the Organized Retail Crime Coordina3 tion Center. 

4 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The duties of the Center shall 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(A) coordinating Federal law enforcement 

7 activities related to organized retail crime, in8 cluding investigations of national and 

9 transnational criminal organizations that are 

10 engaged in organized retail crime; 

11 ‘‘(B) establishing relationships with State 

12 and local law enforcement agencies and organi13 zations, including organized retail crime asso14 ciations, and sharing information regarding or15 ganized retail crime threats with such agencies 

16 and organizations; 

17 ‘‘(C) assisting State and local law enforce18 ment agencies with their investigations of orga19 nized retail crime groups; 

20 ‘‘(D) establishing relationships with retail 

21 companies, sharing information with such com22 panies regarding organized retail crime threats, 

23 and providing mechanisms for the receipt of in24 vestigative information on such threats; 


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1 ‘‘(E) establishing a secure system for shar2 ing information regarding organized retail 

3 crime threats by leveraging existing information 

4 systems at the Department of Homeland Secu5 rity and the Department of Justice; 

6 ‘‘(F) tracking trends with respect to orga7 nized retail crime and releasing annual public 

8 reports on such trends; and 

9 ‘‘(G) supporting the provision of training 

10 and technical assistance in accordance with sub11 section (c). 

12 ‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP; STAFFING.— 

13 ‘‘(A) DIRECTOR.—The Center shall be 

14 headed by a Director, who shall be— 

15 ‘‘(i) an experienced law enforcement 

16 officer; 

17 ‘‘(ii) appointed by the Director of 

18 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce19 ment; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) in the Senior Executive Service 

21 (as defined in section 3132 of title 5, 

22 United States Code). 

23 ‘‘(B) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.—The Director of 

24 the Center shall be assisted by a Deputy Direc25 tor, who shall be appointed, on a 2-year rotaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:26 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H895.IH H895

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1 tional basis, upon request from the Executive 

2 Associate Director of Homeland Security Inves3 tigations, by— 

4 ‘‘(i) the Director of the Federal Bu5 reau of Investigation; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the United States 

7 Secret Service; or 

8 ‘‘(iii) the Chief Postal Inspector. 

9 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL STAFF.—The staff of the 

10 Center shall include— 

11 ‘‘(i) Special Agents and Analysts from 

12 Homeland Security Investigations; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) detailed criminal investigators, 

14 analysts, and liaisons from other Federal 

15 agencies who have responsibilities related 

16 to organized retail crime, including 

17 detailees from— 

18 ‘‘(I) U.S. Customs and Border 

19 Protection; 

20 ‘‘(II) the United States Secret 

21 Service; 

22 ‘‘(III) the United States Postal 

23 Inspection Service; 

24 ‘‘(IV) the Bureau of Alcohol, To25 bacco, Firearms and Explosives; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) the Drug Enforcement Ad2 ministration. 

3 ‘‘(D) STATE AND LOCAL STAFF.—The 

4 staff of the Center may include detailees from 

5 State and local law enforcement agencies, who 

6 shall serve at the Center on a nonreimbursable 

7 basis. 

8 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall co10 ordinate its activities, as appropriate, with 

11 other Federal agencies and centers responsible 

12 for countering transnational organized crime 

13 threats. 

14 ‘‘(B) SHARED RESOURCES.—In estab15 lishing the Center, the Executive Associate Di16 rector of Homeland Security Investigations may 

17 co-locate or otherwise share resources and per18 sonnel, including detailees and agency liaisons, 

19 with— 

20 ‘‘(i) the National Intellectual Property 

21 Rights Coordination Center established 

22 pursuant to section 305(a)(1); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) other existing interagency cen24 ters within the Department of Homeland 

25 Security. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS.—The Director of the 

2 Center, or his or her designee, may enter into 

3 agreements with Federal, State, local, and Trib4 al agencies and private sector entities to facili5 tate carrying out the duties described in para6 graph (2). 

7 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION SHARING.—Subject to 

8 the approval of the Director of the Center, in9 formation that would otherwise be subject to 

10 the limitation on the disclosure of confidential 

11 information set forth in section 1905 of title 

12 18, United States Code, may be shared if such 

13 disclosure is operationally necessary. The Direc14 tor may not delegate his or her authority under 

15 this subparagraph. 

16 ‘‘(5) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

19 year after the date of the enactment of the 

20 Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 

21 2023, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

22 shall submit a report regarding the estab23 lishment of the Center to— 

24 ‘‘(I) the Committee on the Judi25 ciary of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the Committee on Home2 land Security and Governmental Af3 fairs of the Senate; 

4 ‘‘(III) the Committee on the Ju5 diciary of the House of Representa6 tives; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) the Committee on Home8 land Security of the House of Rep9 resentatives. 

10 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—The report required 

11 under clause (i) should include a descrip12 tion of— 

13 ‘‘(I) the organizational structure 

14 of the Center; 

15 ‘‘(II) the agencies and partner 

16 organizations that are represented 

17 within the Center; 

18 ‘‘(III) any challenges that had to 

19 be addressed while establishing the 

20 Center; 

21 ‘‘(IV) any lessons learned from 

22 establishing the Center, including suc23 cessful prosecutions resulting from the 

24 activities of the Center; 


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1 ‘‘(V) recommendations for ways 

2 to strengthen the enforcement of laws 

3 involving organized retail crime; 

4 ‘‘(VI) recommendations for ways 

5 to include organized retail crime with6 in a holistic supply chain security en7 forcement framework; 

8 ‘‘(VII) the intersections and com9 monalities between organized retail 

10 crime organizations and other orga11 nized theft groups, including supply 

12 chain diversion and theft; and 

13 ‘‘(VIII) the impact of organized 

14 theft groups on the scarcity of vital 

15 products, including medicines, per16 sonal protective equipment, and infant 

17 formula. 

18 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning on the 

19 date that is 1 year after the submission of the 

20 report required under subparagraph (A), the 

21 Director shall submit an annual report that de22 scribes the activities of the Center during the 

23 previous year to the congressional committees 

24 listed in subparagraph (A)(i). 

25 ‘‘(c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of the Combating 

3 Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023, the Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security and the Attorney General 

5 shall conduct an evaluation of existing Federal pro6 grams that provide grants, training, and technical 

7 support to State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 

8 to assist in countering organized retail crime. 

9 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION SCOPE.—The evaluation re10 quired under paragraph (1) shall evaluate, at a min11 imum— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Homeland Security Grant Pro13 gram at the Federal Emergency Management 

14 Agency; 

15 ‘‘(B) grant programs at the Office of Jus16 tice Programs within the Department of Jus17 tice; and 

18 ‘‘(C) relevant training programs at the 

19 Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. 

20 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 45 days after 

21 the completion of the evaluation required under 

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

23 and the Attorney General shall jointly submit a re24 port to the congressional committees listed in sub25 section (b)(5)(A)(i) that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) describes the results of such evalua2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes recommendations on ways to 

4 expand grants, training, and technical assist5 ance for combating organized retail crime. 

6 ‘‘(4) ENHANCING OR MODIFYING TRAINING AND

7 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 45 days 

8 after submitting the report required under para9 graph (3), the Secretary of Homeland Security and 

10 the Attorney General shall jointly issue formal guid11 ance to relevant agencies and offices within the De12 partment of Homeland Security and the Department 

13 of Justice for modifying or expanding, as appro14 priate, the prioritization of training and technical as15 sistance designed to counter organized retail crime.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 for the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 

18 2015 (Public Law 107–296) is amended by inserting after 

19 the item relating to section 305 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 305A. Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center.’’. 

Æ 


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